Electric-wire terminal



Feb. 12, 1929.

L. VAN GALE ELECTRIC wIRE TERMINAL Filed Feb. 8, 1924 FIE-11.

IN VEN TOR. LUU/E VFIN EFILE BY z F lEi..]1I.

/(/-$ATTORNEY.

FIE-LI- Patented F eh. 12, 1929.-

"UNETED STATES 1,701,801 PATENT. OFFICE.

LOUIS VAN GALE, F ASTORIA, NEW YORK.

- ELEGTBIG-WIRE TERMINAL.

Application filed February 8, 1924. Serial No. 691.351.

.in operation in the attachment and ,to"

more securely anchor the wire end and 1 assure a perfect electrical connection, than devices heretofore known. Furthermore, the invention aims to provide a terminal having these-and other advantages, as will hereinafter appear and which may have any, de-

sired form of attaching or. connection clip used in cooperation therewith, and which will readily-cooperate in a terminal plug for quick electrical connection and disconnection with sockets. It furthermoreaims to provide a terminal in which the stripped conductor end'may be with great facillty inserted and anchored, while, at the sametime. providing for the suitable holding of the adjacent insulated portion of the wire in order to prevent the'chance of breaking or rupture of the conductor by vibration or -twlisting of the wire adjacent to the termina I I The terminal or terminals and sockets may be made in various forms still containing this invention,- while I have illustrated particular embodiments in the accompany-.

ing drawings forming a part hereof, in which;

Fig. I is a side elevation of an assembled terininal' i M Fig. II is an axial CI'OSS'SGQtlOIl of Fig. I. .Fig. III is a cross section. on the axis of the parts of the terminal, with the parts shown separated in position ready for assembling; I Fig. IV is a cross section on the axis of I a modified form of the terminal.

Fig. V is a cross section-of the cap in Fig. IV, at right angles to the section in Fig. IV. Fi VI is a top view of the crimping cap shown in Fig; III; 4 i

Fig. VII is a side view of a plug with two contact terminals, assembled, on much smaller scale than the previous figures.

Fig. VIII is a side view of a clip terminal assembled onthe wire end, of similar scale to Fig. VII.

The wire A, consists of the usual insulation surrounding the conductor 'B usually stranded. Such a wire has a short portion of the end stripped of insulation leaving the bare conductor B. A ferrule C has a recess at one end adapted to receive the wire with its insulation, "and the recess is restricted and extends in the form of a small hole to the opposite end accommodating the stripped conductor B and fitting it freebut close, which small hole may be more or less inclined to the axis but preferably joining the main'cavity in the centre. Beyond this end of the ferrule a cap D fits over the end but has a hole ofiset to one side and just large enough to receive the stripped conductor end of the wire. A locking cap E has a closed end while at the skirt it is internally threaded at e, in order to engage the thread portion 0 on rule C.

As shown in the modified construction the outside of the fer- IFig. IV, the ferrule C is counterbored at the wire end, as in the other form, but at the contact end anloblique hole C leads from the side, that is ofi'set from the center of the end, into the body of the ferrule and joins the larger counterbore at the center or substantially so. The locking cap in this case is internally threaded to engage the outside threads 0 of the ferrule, and the inside bore of this cap is of a size at e which closely fits the cylindrical outside surface of the contact end of the ferrule, the relative size being such as toprevent the strands of wire from being forced between T the cap and the sides of the ferrule, while the inside of the cap end is formed'flat as at e and opposes a parallel fiat end of the ferrule, in order that these two fiat surfaces may cooperate to squash the conductor strands and form a good contact both with the ferrule end and the side of the cap, when the cap is screwed home on tothe ferrule,

and surrounding its end. In this formthe cap has an extensionE' forming an eye connection for screwing the wire end to terminal bindlng posts or the like, while any form of clip or hook member may be em:

bodied or attached to the terminal to'provide the various ways of connecting thewire and its terminal to binding posts, spark plugstems, or. for any other. of its I usual adaptations.

In Fig. VII the wires A and A, are

shown to lead into an insulation plug F,

such as hard rubber, through holes freely fitting the 'outside of the wire insulation, While at the opposite end of the plug F the holes in it are counterbored larger and of substantially equal to the terminal ferrule,

then the terminal is attached to the stripped end of the-wire, with its cap screwed down tight, whereupon the wires are pulled back i carrying the spring with the terminal into the counterbore of the hole, thereby leaving the wire terminal slightly protruding.

from the plug insulation and spring resisted a ainst pressure from the outside of the terminal when the plug is placed in position for the terminal to connect contacts with the desired conductor member on a lamp or like article.

It will thus be seen that in the forms illustrated, in .Figures II and III, the stripped wire end automatically slides to and through the restricted hole in the end of the ferrule and the wire end with insulation can be pushed into the large counterbore of that end of the ferrule with ease, thereupon the crimping cap D with its hole d can be easily threaded on to thestripped conductor end even by feel and without requiring the accuracy of visual inspection. Then holding the ferrule and wire tight together, the crimping cap can be pressed down forming a bend in the short projecting end of the stripped conductor, which bend will include a little longer part ofthe stripped wire in case the small hole is inclined as in Fig. IV, in which case the cap D can be conveniently threaded while held on the end of the ferrule and then raised slightly and given a half turn to insure starting an anchoring kink in the wire..

Then the locking cap E can be readily screwed over the top or end to force the projecting end of the conductor between the outside of the crimping cap and the inside of the cavityof the locking cap. In this way the conductor end is securely locked or anchored, and the pressure of the cap forces the end into a perfect contact with :the end of the ferrule by squashing the strands; against it and also squashing the strands between the crimping cap and the .end of the ferrule, and in this assembled condition the outer end of the locking capis assured of perfectelectrical contact because of its threaded connection provided by a liberal outside contact around the entire ferrule end'in addition to the contact of the inner side of the end of the locking cap directly with the conductor strands.

.end of the wire besides assuring threaded through the ferrule, any excess length may be snipped off readily; furthermore when the lockingcap has been screwed down it can be removed and the certainty of good contact and anchorage can be'inspected with great facility without changing the condition of anchorage and contact through repeated removals of the cap. It will also be seen that in the fori shown in Fig. IV the same facility is provided for threading the stripped end of the wire into the ferrule, whereas the oblique position of the restricted hole for the con ductor automatically deflects the conductor end one side of the ferrule end where it passes free to be bent over on to the square end surface of the ferrule and can then be clipped off to assure its proper length although the usual stripping of the wire ends will provide for the exact length of free conductor required. It has been found however that the economy of safe and certain attachment of these terminals, can be effected still more economically by the fact that the locking cap E may be screwed down over the ferrule without previously bending down the projecting conductor end because the proper fit of the cap with the ferrule end does its own bending of the projecting conductor end and with the turning when screwing on the cap, the projecting strands are-twisted and squashed down into a mat forming a perfect contact between the ends of the ferrule and the side of the cap, besides forming a sure anchorage or locking of the wire and thereby preventin its being pulled out or jarred loose from t e terminal.

In all, the screwing down of the locking and enclosing cap on to the end of the ferrule, provides a squashing of the strands between two smooth surfaces, and thereby avoids any chance of cutting the strands when workingthe conductor, which latter defects are inherent in many of the terminals heretofore used. Furthermore, the terminal herein described provides for the proper contact of all of the strands at the as secure an anchorage of the wire end as is necessary to meet all of the practical requirements of p A,

use.

Such terminals provide very simple and inexpensive parts for manufacture, and above all, provide economy in the assembling or fixlng of the terminals to the wi e end and still with certainty of proper anchorage and contact. When used ,as illustrated in Fig. VII they provide a very simple, safe and cheap terminal plug and contacts either single or double, to be inserted as by a bayonet ioint in the end of an electric light socket tube, with a spring contact forcing the terminal against the terminal on the bulb base inserted on the other end of the lamp socket, so that contact is provided quickly and maintained perfectly. The sockets for their various uses and the terminalsmay be made for Jthem and for other purposes such as the ends of lead Wires for batteries, or the ignition wires to be clipped to the stem of spark plugs and other uses on motor cars, as well as many applications for any kind of an electric wire terminal connection where security and safety are demanded with economy of parts and assembling.

While many variations in size or in arrangement and details may be made, without departing from the spirit in my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An electric wire terminal including a ferrule-having at one end a recess parallel to the axis to surround the wire insulation, a sloping bottom to said recess converging to the center, a smaller hole extending from the center of the bottom of said recess and laterally inclined to the axis and of a size to closely fit a stripped end of the conductor wire, and an outlet for said smallhole at the opposite end of the ferrule ofiset from the centre, a screw cap to fit and completely enclose the outside of the small hole end. of the ferrule inter'en'gaging threads of sufiicient length to engage the cap and ferrule with the stripped end of the conductor projecting, and when screwed home to squash the projecting end between the inside of the cap and the substantially parallel end of the ferrule, with a shoulder on the ferrule so positioned that when locking the wire end the cap will not reach the shoulder whereby security of hold is always indicated.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this application this 7th day of February, 1924.

LOUIS VAN GALE. 

